Review of Isaac Albeniz: Merlin (Eusebio)

Introduction

At one time, this opera by Isaac Albeniz was thought to be lost until Jose de Eusebio painstakingly pieced the score together from a number of sources. The result was premiered in June 2003 at the Teatro Real Madrid. It features David Wilson-Johnson in the title role and Eva Marton as Morgan le Fay.

Performed on a largely bare stage with just a sword in a stone on it and a backdrop of what appear to be little green men in boxes, the production lacks grandeur. Merlin is a poor man`s Gandalf, lacking any great presence, while King Arthur is a scruffy geezer wearing one of Ygor`s cast-off sheepskin bodices. Excalibur is four-foot of internally illuminated lucite (and presumably to show off this effect explains the dim, blue lighting that lends the whole enterprise a depressing dingy air. The chorus all appear to have been costumed by the Dr Who wardrobe department.

Video

Videotaped before the premiere audience by Spanish broadcaster TVE, the presentation is (by nature) stagey. Colours are muted and the lighting dingy. Technically, the image lacks sharpness, and pans seem to judder. Presentation is in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen.

Audio

The sound is in completely underwhelming stereo, presented in both Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and 5.1 Surround. However, you will find yourself turning the wick right up on your amplifier as the sound is lacking in any beef.

Features

They shouldn`t have bothered, and they haven`t. This two-disc set comes with a quite handsome multilingual booklet. On the discs there are half-an-hour`s worth of interviews, a cast gallery and subtitling for the opera, which takes up most of the capacity of the discs being a bum-numbing two-and-a-half hours in duration.

Conclusion

You`d really have to be a hardcore opera fan to appreciate this one, which was just too esoteric for my tastes. On the whole I think Disney`s Sword In The Stone serves the story better.